Liverpool player ratings, winners and losers vs Crystal Palace as Curtis Jones and 2 more stand out

SELHURST PARK, SOUTH LONDON // Liverpool by beating Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. side has played better and will do so again, but it got the points on the board.

It took fewer than 10 minutes for to open the scoring for Liverpool with a low shot after an excellent move that opened up the host's defense. But from there, the Reds struggled to open up many more clear-cut opportunities to put the result beyond doubt.

made saves from Eddie Nketiah and Eberechi Eze but the only reason had to be nervous was the fact that it hadn't found a second goal against a team that was offering little.

Winners

Curtis Jones looked strong as he made a return to the team while good run of form continued with a decent showing off the left flank. Both will have relished their opportunity to make a rare outing from the start. There was a strong performance from Kostas Tsimikas at left-back, too, while looked good once again at the base of the midfield.

Losers

went off at half-time but at the time of writing, we are yet to hear from Arne Slot on why that was. Aside from that, it was a game where little happened at either end. No one really came out looking extreme in either a good or a bad sense. Crystal Palace never looked like sustaining a big period of pressure. Alisson got injured.

Player ratings

Alisson Becker (7). Didn't touch the ball aside from a few goal kicks and a good low save from Ismaila Sarr in the first half. Then in the second, he needed to get his body behind a strong strike from Eddie Nketihah but he did enough. Went off injured with around 15 minutes to play.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (7). Played in a few good passes/crosses and didn't need to do much in a defensive sense. Could possibly have made a bit more of a couple of moments but by no means a bad performance.

Ibrahima Konate (7). Didn't have a huge amount of work to do going backward and was good on the ball in the main. A third start in a week but this wasn't exactly one that forced him into a great deal of physical exertion.

Virgil van Dijk (8). Got himself out of trouble a couple of times when he was put under pressure by Nketiah. Aerially, he won pretty much everything that was thrown at him.

Kostas Tsimikas (7). It was the Greek's defense-splitting pass that allowed Liverpool to take the lead in the game, as he fed Gakpo who then squared to Jota. He was defensively very good against Sarr too, justifying his selection in the team.

Ryan Gravenberch (8). That move where he spins away from his marker as the ball runs towards him is fast becoming his speciality. He was energetic enough here and

Alexis Mac Allister (6). Played some lovely wall passes to beat the Crystal Palace press at times. Quieter than he often is and it remains to be seen why he was replaced by Dominik Szoboszlai at half-time.

Curtis Jones (8). Coming into the team for his first Premier League start of the season, Jones looked at home immediately. He knitted things together nicely and continued the Liverpool midfield's dominant style perfectly. He has had to be patient when it comes to getting a chance in the starting XI but he definitely took it.

Mohamed Salah (7). He looked sharp again and was given plenty of space by a Crystal Palace backline that resembled a zigzag for most of the match. One or two sharper moves by his teammates would have got him a couple more times.

Diogo Jota (6). Scored the opening goal in typical style and worked really hard to win possession back from the Crystal Palace backline. The Portugal striker is a menace for defenders and was typically annoying the opposition fans by giving away a few fouls. He should have made it 2-0 with a free header from an Alexander-Arnold set-piece.

Cody Gakpo (6). He looks so natural when he drifts inside from the left onto his stronger foot. His casual and languid style when he has the ball is nice to watch, but it's effective too. He didn't score here but he did create plenty.

Substitutes

Dominik Szoboszlai (6). Did his defensive work really well, covering for a Alexander-Arnold a good few times. Offered little going the other way, though.

Luis Diaz (7). Came on in the unfamiliar position of playing on the right wing. Did his defensive duties well and helped see the game through at the end.

Viteszlav Jaros (7). His first punch looked a little nervy but he helped take the sting out of the game with a bit of time-wasting. He got in the way of an Eze chance and will remember this day for a long time.

Andy Robertson (7). Brought on when experience was needed and Tsimikas was starting to look a little tired. Having another leader on the pitch was no bad thing in the circumstances. Wataru Endo also came on but too late to earn a rating.